The present disclosure relates generally to an electronic assembly and to the apparatus and method for assembling the electronic assembly, and particularly to an apparatus and method for assembling a light detector for use in medical diagnostic equipment.
A type of detector array used for computed tomography is made from a silicon wafer having a diode array that is positioned on a ceramic substrate, such as Aluminum Nitride or AIN for example. The silicon diode-array wafer is connected, by means of stud-bump arrays, to metal pads on the ceramic substrate. The connection method may involve bonding via a metal-filled adhesive, such as silver-filled epoxy for example, or by soldering. For backlit photodiode arrangements, the silicon wafer for the diode array needs to be thin, so as to minimize the adverse effects on the X-ray beam that is converted into visible light via a scintillator for detection by the diode array. The thinner the silicon diode-array wafer is, the less attenuation and scattering there will be of the X-ray beam, however, the more susceptible the wafer will be to physical damage. Additionally, for high resolution imaging, it is desirable to have a silicon diode-array wafer that has a high density of photodiodes; however, such high density may require a high degree of control in the manufacturing of such detectors. While some advances have been made in the assembly of detector arrays for use in computed tomography, such as the use of vacuum suction cups to pick and place the diode array wafers, there is still a need in the art for a detector array arrangement, and a method and apparatus for assembling the detector array arrangement, that overcomes these drawbacks.